Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The careless couple have struck again! 10 minutes into our drive out of Dallas a warning appeared on the driver's console that read "rear access door open". Looking into my rear view mirror, the rear access appeared closed. Rather than risk it I pulled off at the nearest gas station only to find the glass access door on my tailgate was wide open! My camera case was perched perilously on the edge. Luckily we didn't lose anything!

Getting back on the road after 4 days of siesta was quite enjoyable. Somehow we always manage to turn a 4 1/2 hour trip into an 8 hour extravaganza. Why rush when there are no deadlines? We passed through Austin, stopping only briefly. From what we saw I wasn't impressed. Then again we were only there 30 minutes and managed to visit the slums in search of an illusive Texan tourist office. After Austin we turned 30 miles out of the way to visit Lockhart, Texas so Allan (Allan Lockhart - no relation) could have some pictures taken in front of the Lockhart sign. We also wanted to try some of Texas's best barbecue. The pork ribs, corn bread, Mexican rice and bottomless sweet tea were just what the doctor ordered!

After Lockhart we managed to make it to San Antonio despite the fact that the GPS was telling us to go East. Luckily Allan noticed the error and headed us West. Otherwise I probably would have driven to Arkansas! Upon arriving at the Comfort Inn in San Antonio I took a prompt swim in the pool to cool off. I have to remember to put on 50 proof sunblock. Although I like getting tan I don't want to end up a raisin when I'm 50! When it's summer year round what's the point of tanning? At 100 degrees outside it is a scorcher. Call us crazy but we love the heat. It sure beats 2 feet on snow on a cold winter day in Boston!

After we decompressed at the hotel we proceeded downtown for routine photos outside the Alamo. It would have been nice to go inside but unfortunately it was closed. Next we took a nice stroll on the River Walk, San Antonio's primary promenade along the San Antonio River. It's a gorgeous area lined with shops and restaurants, and has the same sort of charm as Spain.
We wanted to eat at a charming riverside Mexican restaurant but it had an hour wait so we settled on a tourist trap with Texan food, poor service and overcooked burgers. However, the meal for 2 was inexpensive and the food palatable, so it made it worthwhile overall.

For accommodations for tomorrow night we managed to book a dog friendly hotel in Brownsville, TX after numerous phone calls to various hotels. Allan wanted to book a Holiday Inn an hour out of our way from Brownsville, but I insisted we try calling more hotels. Luckily my persistence paid off! We're finding the closer we get to the border the more difficult it is to find pet friendly accommodations. I'll take it as a harbinger of things to come!